Excerpts: Israeli archeological mystery. Flagrant intervention in Syria by
Hizbullah and Iranian fighters May 23, 2013

+++SOURCE: Naharnet (Lebanon) 23 May ’13:”Submerged Structure Stumps Israeli
Archaeologists”, Associated Press
SUBJECT: Israeli archeological mystery
QUOTE: ”Its thousands of years old. . . practically begging to be
explored”
FULL TEXT:The massive circular structure appears to be an archaeologists
dream: a recently discovered antiquity that could reveal secrets of ancient
life in the Middle East and is just waiting to be excavated.

It's thousands of years old — a conical, manmade behemoth weighing hundreds
of tons, practically begging to be explored.

The problem is — it's at the bottom of the biblical Sea of Galilee. For now,
at least, Israeli researchers are left stranded on dry land, wondering what
finds lurk below.

The monumental structure, made of boulders and stones with a diameter of 70
meters (230 feet), emerged from a routine sonar scan in 2003. Now
archaeologists are trying to raise money to allow them access to the
submerged stones.

"It's very enigmatic, it's very interesting, but the bottom line is we don't
know when it's from, we don't know what it's connected to, we don't know its
function," said Dani Nadel, an archaeologist at the University of Haifa who
is one of several researchers studying the discovery. "We only know it is
there, it is huge and it is unusual."

Archaeologists said the only way they can properly assess the structure is
through an underwater excavation, a painstakingly slow process that can cost
hundreds of thousands of dollars. And if an excavation were to take place,
archaeologists said they believed it would be the first in the Sea of
Galilee, an ancient lake that boasts historical remnants spanning thousands
of years and is the setting of many Bible scenes.

In contrast, Israeli researchers have carried out many excavations in the
Mediterranean and Red Seas.

Much of the researchers' limited knowledge about this structure comes from
the sonar scan a decade ago.

Initial dives shortly after that revealed a few details. In an article in
the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology published earlier this
year, Nadel and fellow researchers disclosed it was asymmetrical, made of
basalt boulders and that "fish teem around the structure and between its
blocks."

The cone-shaped structure is found at a depth of between three and 12 meters
(nine and 40 feet) beneath the surface, about half a kilometer (1,600 feet)
from the sea's southwestern shore. Its base is buried under sediment.

The authors conclude the structure is man-made, made of stones that
originated nearby, and it weighs about 60,000 tons. The authors write it "is
indicative of a complex, well-organized society, with planning skills and
economic ability."

The rest is a mystery.

Yitzhak Paz, an archaeologist with the Israel Antiquities Authority who is
involved in the project, said that based on sediment buildup, it is between
2,000 and 12,000 years old, a vast range that tells little about it. Based
on other sites and artifacts found in the region, Paz places the site's
origin some time during the 3rd millennium B.C., or about 5,000 years ago,
although he admits the timeframe is just a guess.

"The period is hard for us to determine. No scientific work was carried out
there, no excavations, no surveys. We have no artifacts from the structure,"
Paz said.

Archaeologists were also cautious about guessing the structure's purpose.
They said possibilities include a burial site, a place of worship or even a
fish nursery, which were common in the area, but they said they wanted to
avoid speculation because they have so little information.

It's not even clear if the structure was built on shore when the sea stood
at a low level, or if it was constructed underwater. Paz reckons it was
built on land, an indication of the sea's low level at the time.

In order to fill in the blanks, archaeologists hope to inspect the site
underwater, despite the expense and the complexities.

Nadel noted that working underwater demands not only a skill such as scuba
diving, but also labor-intensive excavations that are particularly difficult
in the Sea of Galilee, which already has low visibility and where any
digging can unleash a cloud of sediment and bury what's just been uncovered.

Also, divers can remain under water only for a limited amount of time every
day and must choose the best season that can provide optimal conditions for
excavating.

"Until we do more research, we don't have much more to add," Nadel said.
"It's a mystery, and every mystery is interesting."

+++SOURCE: Naharneet (Lebanon) 23 May ’13:”11 Nations Call for Hizbullah’s
‘Immediate’ Pullout from Syria”, Agence France Presse
SUBJECT:”flagrant intervention” in Syria by Hizbullah and Iranian fighters

QUOTE:”Friends of Syria group ‘called for the immediate withdrawal [from
Syrian territory] of Hizbullah, fighters from Iran, and other regime allied
foreign fighters “

FULL TEXT:World powers denounced on Thursday[23 May] the "flagrant
intervention" in Syria by Hizbullah and Iranian fighters, urging their
immediate withdrawal from the war-torn country.

In a joint statement, the Friends of Syria group "called for the immediate
withdrawal from Syria of Hizbullah, fighters from Iran, and other regime
allied foreign fighters from Syrian territory."

It described their armed presence in the country as a threat to regional
stability.

The group held talks in Amman to try to agree the contours of a peace
conference to end the war.

A key battle has been waged since Sunday[19 May] over control of the town of
al-Qusayr, which had been in rebel hands for more than a year.

Qusayr is located along a land corridor that links two Assad strongholds,
the capital Damascus and the heartland of President Bashar Assad's Alawite
sect along the Mediterranean coast.

Syrian troops backed by fighters from Hizbullah have pushed into the town
since the start of the offensive. Underlining its importance, Syria's main
opposition alliance, the Syrian National Coalition, on Wednesday[22 May]
urged rebel fighters from across Syria to converge on Qusayr to help defend
it.

Opposition fighters were holding out Wednesday, but appeared to be under
increasing strain as government tanks and artillery pounded the town and
warplanes bombed it from the sky.

The meeting of 11 Western and Arab foreign ministers, as well as Turkey, in
Amman urged Assad to commit to peace, but warned that if he fails to
negotiate a political transition they would boost their backing of the
opposition.

The joint statement warned of "severe consequences" if use of chemical
weapons by Assad's forces is confirmed.

It also accused government troops of committing “ethnic cleansing" this
month in the city of Banias

==========
Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA